The ECHO - Facing IT!

My truth, your reflection

Through personal stories and candid reflections, I will share how I navigate life's challenges and face the truth. This is not about persuasion, but an invitation for you to consider your own journey. The choice to engage and react is entirely yours, one baby step at a time.

FACING IT!

THE LESSON STARTS WITH THE TEACHER

Are You Blaming Circumstances for a Decision That Is Actually Yours to Make?

August 16, 2026

www.PeaceFourU.org

I have been rolling around the idea of publishing my novel, memoir, fantasy—or whatever it is that I am writing.

I think about my job. Am I happy with my current position?

No.

Am I happy with where I live?

No.

Am I happy with my current financial situation?

No.

Those are uncomfortable answers.

But Facing IT! requires another question:

What have I actually done to change them?

That's where things become harder.

It is easy to create stress and then complain about the stress. It is easy to point toward circumstances, other people, money, work, timing, or a hundred other reasons why something hasn't changed.

Some of those circumstances are real.

But eventually, I have to separate the things I cannot control from the decisions that are still mine to make.

THE LESSON STARTS WITH THE TEACHER

Think about what we teach a child.

We teach them right from wrong. We tell them to accept responsibility. We encourage them to keep trying when something is difficult. We tell them that actions have consequences.

But children don't learn only from what we tell them.

They watch what we do.

If the teacher doesn't follow the lesson, what exactly are we teaching?

Maybe adulthood isn't that different.

I know I need a plan.

I know I need a goal.

I need inspiration. I need encouragement.

But eventually, I need to just do it.

And that doesn't mean I have to solve everything today.

TODAY, I WILL FACE IT

Today, I am going to get my haircut.

Then I am going to church on the other side of town—and across the state line.

I am going to listen to the Gospel.

I am going to listen to beautiful voices sing.

I am going to pray for direction.

And I am not making another plan until I accomplish those things.

No ten-step program.

No promises that tomorrow my entire life will suddenly be different.

Just the next right thing.

Because perhaps that's how change actually begins.

OUR STRESS CREATES RIPPLES

There is another reason this matters.

When we create drama around our own problems, it doesn't necessarily stay with us.

Stress changes our behavior.

Our behavior changes how we speak to someone.

Our words can change their mood.

Their mood can affect someone else.

Before long, something happening inside one person has created turmoil in the life of another.

That's a Ripple Effect, too.

We spend a lot of time talking about how kindness spreads.

We should remember that frustration can spread the same way.

So today, I am making a stand—not against the world, my employer, my finances, or anyone else.

I am making a stand with myself.

I may not have created every circumstance surrounding me.

But I am responsible for what I do next.

And I am responsible for what I send outward from here.

Maybe that's the lesson.

Before we teach someone else what is right or wrong, we have to be willing to become the student ourselves.

Sometimes the lesson isn't learning what to do.

Sometimes the lesson is finally doing what we already know.

Now it's your turn.

Are you blaming circumstances for a decision that is actually yours to make? ✌️ 

FACING IT! - The ECHO

WHEN DID I BECOME OKAY WITH WHO I AM—AND WHAT I LOOK LIKE?

August 11, 2026

www.PeaceFourU.org

As a man, I never thought much about my appearance.

Actually, I take that back.

From my early twenties through my late thirties, I cared—a little. I was single, playing the field, and wanted to look attractive. Once I got married, however, I stopped caring as much. I gained weight and paid less attention to my appearance.

I told myself I was simply comfortable.

But was I comfortable—or had I become careless?

Sometime between the ages of forty and forty-five, I developed diabetes. At first, I did not believe it. I did not want to face what my body was telling me.

Then I lost something extremely important to me: my sight.

That changed everything.

I finally began caring for myself—not to impress strangers and not to win anyone’s approval. I started caring because my health, my life, and my ability to see were worth protecting.

Health problems can completely change a person’s mindset. Sometimes we do not appreciate what our bodies provide until something begins slipping away.

My wife tells me she still finds me attractive. Could she be lying?

YES!

And I am perfectly fine with that.

I am no longer trying to impress the entire world. If my appearance benefits anyone besides myself, I want it to be the woman who chose to share her life with me.

But taking care of myself is no longer about whether she—or anyone else—likes what they see.

It is about liking myself enough to protect what I still have.

That is the truth I finally had to face.

WHAT IS YOUR TRUTH?

Peace ✌️